A Different Shell Cottage
by XoxMountainGirlxoX
Summary: This story takes a look at a different way the situation after Malfoy Manor could go. The story doesn't actually take place at Shell Cottage and starts in the time of "The Wandmaker" chapter, or chapter 24, of The Deathly Hallows.
1. Prologue

**Ok, so here is the story I've been trying to get out and posted for a long time now. I've tried a few times, but it just didn't sound right. I do believe I've finally figured out how I want it to go. I hope you like!**

**I would like to thank Dimcairien for beta reading this for me. She is awesome and I would like to put a little plug in and tell y'all to go check out her stories. They are AMAZING!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.**

* * *

The Weasleys are a pure-blood wizarding family. A pure-blood is a witch or wizard who can show that magic has been in their family for at least four generations. Grandparents play a huge roll in blood status in the wizard world. A half-blood is one who comes from a wizarding family and a muggle, non-magical, family. Muggle-borns is a person who comes from a muggle family, but can do magic.

Some pure-blood families believe in blood purity. The blood purity is like the Muggle's Caste System. The pure-bloods are at the top, they believe they are over everyone because they have the oldest magic. The half-bloods are lower than the pure-bloods and some people, especially the Death Eaters, don't want to be known that they are a half-blood and they lie about it. The most famous half-blood that no one knows about is the Dark Lord himself, most think he is a pure-blood. The Muggle-borns are the lowest and most discriminated. The purebloods who like Muggles and Muggle-borns and associate with them, like the Weasleys, are called blood-traitors and are also discriminated for being that way.

The pure-bloods, at this time, are like the Nazis of the Muggle world. The discrimination against the Muggle-borns has become very bad and now they are being hunted like the Jews had been. This is a different type of war than World War II was, but it does have its similarities. Voldemort is like Hitler and has taken over most of the government at this point in time and this has put everyone on edge. Especially the Weasley family.

The Weasley's have a very prominent place in this war. Not only is the fact that they are blood-traitors hanging over their heads, but their youngest son is helping the only person who can take down Voldemort. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger had left the safety of the Burrow, the family's home, to go on a mission that will hopefully conclude with the fall of the Dark Lord and his minions. The oldest of the Weasleys, Bill, had gotten married just a few months ago and during the reception Death Eaters had attacked. That was the start of the mission for the three friends. Harry had to go, the Death Eaters had come just for him and if he stayed he would have been captured. Both Ron and Hermione wouldn't stay without him, he needed their help and support, something that couldn't be done from home.

It had been seven months since the family had seen or heard from the three and they were worried. At this moment Molly Weasley was starting to set out supper and calling the others to the table. Arthur had just come in the door and Ginny, Fred, George and Charlie came bounding down the stairs. It was near Easter so the twins, Fred and George, had come home from their joke shop and Charlie, who lived in Romania taking care of dragons, had taken some time off as well. Ginny, the youngest and only daughter, had come home from Hogwarts, the wizarding school, for Easter. Bill and Fleur, his wife, had opted for a quiet time together and said that they would probably drop by later.

Everyone was chatting and laughing when they heard a distant crack of Apparition, one of the ways wizards travel. Everyone quieted down as they listened for someone to knock on the door. It took people a while to get to the house because of the wards that Kingsley Shacklebolt, a friend and a member of the Order of the Phoenix, had encouraged them to do since they had to cover for Ron being away. They had been told to tell people that Ron had come down with Spattergroit and that that was the reason he wasn't in school.

After they had put up the wards, people now had to Apparate a half mile away from the house. They didn't get many visitors and so this put them on edge, each hoping it wasn't someone they didn't want to see. After a few minutes they started to get restless. It was night so there was no use to look out the window and the grass muffled the sounds of the feet. Finally there was a knock, a knock that would change their lives.

"Mum! Dad!" a desperate Bill yelled while a light knock contradicted how he sounded. Molly hurried to open the door, the others right behind her. The sight when the door opened took their breaths.

Bill stood at the door and three people were behind him. The thing that had everyone's attention was the large bundle of blankets he had in his arms. It was soaked in blood and Bill's clothes were also wet with the substance. A small, very pale hand stuck out of the sheets and it was covered in blood as well. Bill walked in and the other three came out from behind him, making everyone gasp. One was Ollivander, the wandmaker, and the other two were Luna Lovegood and Dean Thomas. The latter two were hugged tightly by Ginny. All three bore bruises, cuts and some gashes. Luna also looked like she hadn't eaten for a while, her cheeks had sunk and made her eyes look twice as big. Ginny and Dean had their arms around her, holding her up as the Apparating with an empty stomach made her a little wobbly.

"Bill! What is going on?" a pale Molly asked her son.

"They know. We need to get you out of here. They know about Ron and they could be coming any minute." His voice hadn't lost the desperation in it. It also had a little panic mixed in. His words sent everyone flying to gather things, everyone except Molly. Molly slowly came up and was about to touch the bundle when Bill pulled back. A small whimper escaped as he did and it made Molly more curious.

"No Mum, not now." His voice was soft and she could see the pain in his eyes as he watched her.

"Who?" came the simple question. He sighed.

"Is it someone we know?" she pushed. Her eyes filled with tears as she caught the very subtle nod and she left it at that.

After a few minutes, hours it seemed, everyone had finally got everything together. Arthur had gotten both suitcases for both Molly and himself. He had suggested that everyone pack a bag just in case they had to be fast, like women do when they are pregnant.

"Okay everyone. We need to go," Bill said, nodding to Luna who handed them a piece of paper.

"Read it and then burn it," Bill ordered. The twins and Ginny groaned as they saw what was on the paper. Bill turned and headed out the door. It didn't take long to get to the edge of the wards. When they got there Bill turned to looked around for, maybe, the last time and sighed, wondering what would happen after they left. Would the Death Eaters come and ravage the house he grew up in? Tear apart the house that brought everyone together?

Those questions were on everyone's mind as they walked away. Molly turned for one last look before being pulled out of the wards by Arthur. Bill and the bundle of blankets went first, then Fred with Ginny, Luna with George, Ollivander with Dean, Charlie went by himself and finally Arthur with a weepy Molly.

* * *

**Please review! It will help me to know if this was actually worth it. Constructive criticism is ok, but flaming won't be tolerated. there is a difference between the two, if you don't know about it then look it up.**

** I am writing up the next installment and it will hopefully be up soon. I won't be promising a certain date or anything.**


	2. Healing and a Story

**I want to thank Dimcairien for betaing this for me. Again, go check out her stories, they are amazing!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling.**

* * *

Arthur and Molly arrived at Aunt Muriel's house and were greeted by chaos. Aunt Muriel was in an uproar about there being so many people in her place and the bundle that Bill carried as she didn't want that filthy thing in her house and she didn't care who or what it was. Ginny was screaming that if she wasn't going home soon she was going to kill herself and the twins were suspiciously talking to each other with looks that would put fear into anyone that looked at them. Charlie, Luna, Dean and Ollivander were just looking on at the scene in wonder and disbelief. Molly looked at Arthur and sighed, she was tired and scared and just wanted peace for once. Arthur knew how his wife was feeling and decided that enough was enough. He put his fingers in his mouth and blew hard, the loud whistle made everyone stop and look.

"Listen, we are here for who knows how long," Arthur announced. "We need to learn how to get along. Muriel, just go into the kitchen, Molly will make you some tea. Fred and George, go and get a pillow and blanket. Ginny, go get some cool water and wash rag. Dean, Luna, please take Ollivander upstairs and try to make him comfortable. Charlie, help your brother with what he is carrying. We need to help whoever that is right now." Everyone looked in wonder at Arthur; it was usually Molly who gave out orders. With a small glare towards them, everyone started to do as they were told. Molly sent a small smile of thanks and headed off to the kitchen with Muriel being pulled along.

"Careful, Charlie," Bill warned his brother as they tried to gently maneuver the bundle onto the couch. A loud yelp startled them and Charlie looked up to Bill.

"That was a girl's tone," said Charlie, then he asked with a scared look and tone, "Bill, who is this?"

Bill looked over to Ginny and the twins who had just come in at that moment and sighed. He decided to just show them. They all gathered around as Bill peeled away the sheet and little by little the person was revealed. Everyone gasped when they saw who it was.

"No! Not her!" Ginny put a hand over her mouth like she was going to be sick. The twins looked like they weren't breathing with looks of shock and disgust on their faces. Arthur sat down and put his hands in his face in disbelief. Molly, hearing the commotion, came out of the kitchen. She hurried over to see what was happening when Charlie intercepted her.

"No, Mum, don't. it's not good, it's….." Charlie tried, but Molly pushed through

"You listen to me Charles. I know that this is someone I know. I believe I can han…." Molly's voice trailed off as her eyes finally landed on who was on the couch. She turned white and looked ready to faint. Arthur stood and moved to stand behind her. She breathed in through her nose and let out a huge breath of air.

"Bill, what…..what happened?" she said breathlessly, still trying to fight off both nausea and fainting. Tears gathering the longer she held them back. It was Hermione who was laying on the couch. The girl who had become very special to the family, especially to Ron.

Molly glanced over Hermione, assessing the damage on the girl's body. The one thing that was prominent was how skinny she was. The clothes hung on her and her face had started to sink in. It looked like she hadn't eaten properly in months; _Probably because of being on the run and being in places where food wasn't available, _Molly thought, also thinking about what the boys must look like if this was the condition their best friend was in. Hermione was also bleeding from her arm and neck, the former was gushing blood. Molly also noticed that the veins in all the extremities stood out, like she had been exercising and her blood pressure had risen to the extreme . Molly's eyes widened as she figured that Hermione had been crucioed; _how long and how many times? _Was the question running through her mind as she thought about Neville's parents who were in the mental ward of St Mungo's. The Cruciatus Curse, or the Torture Spell, made the recipient to writhe violently and the pain level made the adrenaline run faster. Molly closed her eyes and sat down heavily as Bill started to talk.

"I…I don't know what happened. No one will say anything. Harry is too busy making plans and Ron just sits and stares like he has seen a ghost. I have a feeling both were there when this happened," he explained. As he did, he also started to work on Hermione. He shakily put a towel on her wrist and put pressure on it to stop the bleeding, the cut on her neck had already coagulated. The twins, never seeing their brother so scared before, looked at each other and with a nod went over to Bill and gently moved him so they could take over. It wasn't the fact that they were taking care of someone or even their abilities to heal that had everyone shocked, but the seriousness that had come over the usually joking and pranking twins. Everyone knew that Fred and George had learned to heal with wandless magic and had learned a few other spells as well. They found it a priority learn it because of the shop, just in case they didn't or couldn't have a wand in an emergency. A small voice came from the stairs. It was a dreamy, but broken voice.

"They were there. We all were, we didn't see what happened to her, but we heard." Luna was leaning against the banister and Charlie went over to steady her. Ginny followed, helping her brother support her friend.

"Luna, can you tell us what happened?" Fred asked her gently. She nodded and both Ginny and Charlie helped her over to the love seat. Charlie sat on the arm and Ginny sat on Luna's other side, rubbing a hand up and down the distraught girl's back. Everyone listened intently to what she had to say, hoping that this knowledge would help them with taking care of Hermione.

"Well, Ollivander and I had been in the dungeon for about four months apparently, when we got to Shell Cottage Fleur told me the date. Ollivander had been beaten and tortured numerous times while I was there…." Molly gasped, interrupting Luna.

"Maybe I should see if he is alright?" She looked to Arthur who conceded, it would be better if his wife was out of the room. He watched as she hustled up the stairs.

"But, Fleur took care of him when we arrived," Luna started to argue. She had grown fond of the old man and he had just gotten to sleep. Dean had stayed to watch over him and she didn't want to disturb him.

"It's okay Luna, Mum doesn't need to be here. This will help her. Make her think she is doing something good," Bill told the young girl. She nodded in understanding and continued.

"I heard commotion going on up stairs and I tried hard to hear what was going on," continued Luna. "I only caught snippets here and there. I heard that they had caught three people and that they needed Draco to identify them. I knew it was them. Apparently Hermione had cast a jinx on Harry, trying to disguise him. Also, Draco actually lied and said he didn't know who they were." The twins looked up from their jobs with surprised looks on their faces.

"It didn't matter. They brought in Bellatrix anyway." Everyone tensed at this, knowing what the witch could do.

"I heard her squabble with someone and then ordered people to take them down into the courtyard. I heard her screech about some type of sword." At this Ginny paled. She remembered what sword she had tried to send to Harry, maybe it did get to him. Maybe she was the cause her friend was in this predicament.

"I heard her say something and that was when they brought the boys down. Just a few seconds after the boys were thrown in, the screams started," Luna's voice cracked, remembering how horrible the screams were and how Ron had acted. She had kept calm, something her father had taught her to do in tough situations, 'Take a deep breath and do what you need to do'. But now it was all rushing back and was too hard to handle all at once. Ginny pulled her to where she was leaning on the one and only Weasley girl and Charlie had put a hand on her shoulder and was gently rubbing it. Arthur had knelt down in front of her and had his hand on one of her knees, like a father would when comforting a child, every once in a while he would give it a squeeze.

"The screams seemed to go on forever. We heard Bellatrix screaming at her, sometimes we couldn't make it out what it was. One time we heard her scream 'crucio', but that was it. After what seemed like hours, Dobby appeared." A small smile graced her face at the thought of the little house elf.

"Dobby the house elf?" Ginny asked for confirmation. Luna nodded.

"Both Ron and Harry had him take Ollivander, Dean and me to Shell Cottage. After that, I don't know anything that happened at Malfoy Manor. Wait," Luna took a deep breathe and went on," There is one fact that I do know. It isn't nice and I don't know if anything happened because of it…" She trailed off.

"Go on Luna. We need to know," Bill said as he looked at her straight in the eyes.

"Well…Greyback," There was a huge intake of breath, everyone knew of the notorious werewolf, "He sort of took a liking to Hermione." Her whisper could barely be heard. Everyone blanched at the thought of Hermione in the hands of that beast.

Arthur took the hand away from his mouth that he had put there while listening to the girl, he ran it over his face and cleared his throat before speaking, "Thanks Luna. Um….." He looked like he was trying to figure out how to say something, "I need to ask something, something a little personal."

"Go ahead sir." Luna looked straight at him with gentleness.

"Did…did anything happen to you? Did Greyback….did he….did he take a liking to you too?" the hand on her shoulder tightened a little and the arm around her pulled her closer to the redheaded girl.

She took a deep breath, "Yes," She replied, her head raised high. She would not give him the benefit of making her feel defeated and ashamed, she didn't egg him on so it wasn't her fault. Little breaths were released, but this time it wasn't from relief.

"May I ask what happened during your time there? Before Harry, Ron and Hermione showed up?" She only nodded to the question.

"I was mostly in the dungeon, but they did take me out for questioning. Bellatrix never even looked at me, let alone talked to me, she saved everything for Ollivander. It was mostly Draco, Greyback or Lucius. One time that rat like man did the questioning, but that was it. Greyback…" Her eyes got a far away look in them, it wasn't her normal dreamy look and it scared those around her who knew her, "he liked to touch me whenever he was around me. He would always sniff and get this look in his eye, a look of hunger." She shivered.

"Draco would taunt me and slap me around. It was like I was a toy for him. I sort of knew how he felt about me, but…..the things he said…I usually can block it, but with him I was questioned for hours at a time and a person can only take so much." A small tear ran down her face.

"Lucius was the most cruel of them all. He…..He had a whip. The end was charmed to bite, like a snake, but sometimes he would use it like an actual whip." Ginny glanced at her friend, wondering what was hiding under the clothes she was wearing, when she looked around she could tell that was what everyone else was thinking too. Arthur thought the girl had had enough and helped her to her feet.

"Thank you Luna, you helped us a lot. Why don't you go up stairs and take a rest. I'll have Molly come and check you out. Is that alright?" He quickly asked, seeing the girl blanch a little at the thought of being checked out. _Maybe she didn't tell us everything,_ he thought with dread. After she was up stairs, he called Molly down.

"Yes? Is everything alright?" she asked the minute she was down.

"Yes, we got a lot of information," Arthur answered. "I need you do to something very delicate. Luna just told us what had happened to her. I think she needs to be checked out; I don't think she told us everything. You need to be careful though, she has had it rough." Molly nodded and was startled when Arthur pulled her away from the main room and into a small alcove and started to talk in a hushed voice.

"Molly, I'm not too sure, but I believe she might have been raped. She told us that Greyback touched her, but didn't say anymore." Molly gave a little gasp and tears sprung into her eyes as she nodded. She knew what he wanted her to do and she knew she was the best to do it.

"Also, check her back. She said she was whipped and that sometimes the whip was charmed to bite like a snake. I don't know where it bit, but just check that out. I also don't know if any of the injuries were taken care of while she was there," Arthur gently told his wife, who nodded. He gave her a small, comforting kiss and gave her a small push towards the stairs. He then sighed and turned back to the other scene. A scene he wasn't ready for.

* * *

**Alright, there it is, the second chapter! Woo Hoo! I don't know how many chapters I'm going to take this, but I know it will be longer than three. **

**I have the next chapter started, but I'm having a little trouble getting it to how I want it. right now, to me, it sounds cheesy. **

**I'm also working on the one story that I deleted three times, "Book of Assurance". It sounds so much better since I've revamped it and also got a beta reader. I will probably start posting it when I have gotten enough chapters done. So, keep an eye out for it!**

**Please Review. Again, constructive criticism is approved, flaming isn't. There is a difference between the two.**


	3. A Different Point of View

Arthur, after watching to see that Molly was all the way up the stairs, turned back to the boys who were still trying to stop the bleeding from Hermione's arm. He could tell that they were holding back information from him and he wanted to know what it was. Hermione had become like a daughter to him and he wanted to know if she would be all right.

"Boys, what is going on? How is Hermione?" Asked Arthur.

Fred and George looked at each other with questioning looks. Like they were trying to gauge whether or not to tell him.

"Well," Fred said hesitantly.

"We need to…," George trailed off, trying to think of a way to say what he needed to.

"Her clothes are in the way, Dad," Fred said, giving his dad a look.

"Ah, um….." Arthur started to turn red, "Ginny, would you help your brothers?"

Ginny got up, giving all the men a look that made them turn around. She knew they wouldn't leave the room and Fred and George couldn't let go of Hermione's arm or neck, both of which were still bleeding. She made sure no one was looking before vanishing the girl's clothing, which were now beyond use. Ginny covered Hermione's chest with a towel and used a sheet to cover her legs up to the hips. Tears started to fall during her work as she saw the damage done to her best girl friend. She wiped the tears away and gave a small cough that brought the boys back to attention.

There were two things that happened when the boys turned around. All of them had shock on their faces at the exposed wounds that were hidden by the clothing and all the boys turned red after seeing that Hermione only had a towel and a sheet covering her. Ginny hid a smirk at seeing her brothers embarrassed by seeing a girl, who is like a sister, almost naked. She became serious after a moment and asked:

"Are you going to be able to help her?" Fred and George looked at their little sister who had an expectant look on her face. She always counted on her brothers to fix things and they hated to let her down. They hoped that they would be able to make Hermione well again.

"We're trying, Gin," George told her with a sigh. Ginny nodded and went up stairs to see if her mother needed anything as she and Luna had been up there for a while. The men watched her go and then turned back to the still unconscious girl on the couch; Fred and George immediately starting on the now visible injuries with Bill and Arthur's help.

Fred gasped when he finally got the bleeding on her arm to stop and saw, after the blood was wiped away, what was done to make that happen. George, Bill, Charlie and Arthur looked over when they heard the gasp and all reacted in different ways. Arthur walked out of the room; he had a more gentle spirit and seeing Hermione, the strong and intelligent girl, like that was hard. Bill and George both looked like they would be sick and Charlie looked mad. He might not know her as well as the others; but he knew that she was tough and to see her, or any girl, like this made his blood boil. He wasn't one to get into fights, but get a girl into the mix, if he knew them or not, and the protector in him took over.

Fred looked at those around him and sighed. They needed to get her cleaned up and healed, but it was hard when everyone was like they were. He clapped George on the back, making his twin look him in the eye. They had a silent conversation then George nodded.

"Bill, you know more healing spells than us. Could you heal some of these cuts? Charlie, can you help him? We are going to start some potions that we will need and some that we might need down the road," Fred's commanding voice brought the two oldest out of their thoughts and both nodded their agreements. Bill and Charlie took Fred and George's places while the twins left the room.

When they were out of the living room and in the kitchen, Fred collapsed into a chair and put his head in his hands, barely noticing when George came and put a hand on his shoulder.

**Fred's POV**

Merlin, what did they do to her? I knew things were bad, but I didn't….I didn't think it could get worse after George lost his ear. This is way beyond a missing ear! This is Hermione, the person who stood up to us. The one who has fought side by side with Harry Potter and kept him and our brother alive for seven years with her book smarts and her strength. How could this happen to her?

It is sickening just looking at her. She has cuts all over her body and most have bits of glass in them. She has a cut on her neck that looks like a knife was held there and some of her hair is missing. The worst thing is her arm; oh god, her arm! I know Bellatrix is mental, but I didn't think she would be that cruel, I didn't think anyone would be that cruel. That bloody woman marked Hermione with the most vile of words in our world. She actually carved the word into her arm! I've heard people, or a person actually, call Hermione that name and it makes me want to throttle them. I hope we can heal it up and not have any clue that it was there, but I have a sinking feeling that it is permanent. Knowing that bitch, she would have made it where it will forever be there to haunt Hermione.

I believe the one thing that we are going to have a problem with is when Hermione wakes up. We don't know how she is mentally and we don't know everything that she went through. We know that she had been crucioed, but we don't know how many times or how long. We know that it was powerful because Bellatrix would have meant it and meaning it means it will be stronger. I know that this will change her, but I hope that she will have a little part of the Hermione Granger that we all grew up with.

I feel George calling me. We need to get cracking on those potions. Come on Fred, get your head together. I wonder how Bill and Charlie are doing. I wonder if we should make anything for Luna. I'll have to ask Mum.

**End Fred's POV**

Fred blinked a few times and looked up at George who was watching him closely.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. I wonder how Bill and Charlie are doing." He voiced his thoughts.

"I don't know, they should be fine. We really need to start these potions," George said handing him a cauldron. They brought two so they could continue their owl deliveries.

"I was wondering if we should make anything for Luna," Fred voiced his thoughts again.

"Probably, but I don't know what it would be. Ask Mum when she comes down," George said, turning to look at his brother. Seeing the look in his eyes he added, "I know, I'm worried too. About all of them." He clapped Fred on the shoulder and turned back to his work.

The two worked in silence for a few minutes, listening to the already bubbling potions. It wasn't until an unearthly scream filled the house that they forgot everything they were doing and rushed out of the kitchen to the living room.

* * *

**All right! There is chapter 3, I hope it is what you expected. **

**Please Review, it really helps me out, knowing what you guys liked and didn't like. Remember that constructive criticism is allowed, flames aren't; there is a difference!**


End file.
